The latest news from around the world and close to home....

How to survive survivorship

It started with a lump in my throat.

I don't mean the metaphorical lump, the kind that comes when you're feeling a rush of emotion and trying to hold back tears. I mean literally.

One day nearly a year ago I noticed that there was a lump on the right side of my neck that wouldn't go away. 

Even now after writing that sentence my hand reaches for that spot, a leftover instinct borne from weeks of checking to s

....From around the world, and closer to home, some of the top stories this week.

GP's plea to parents: save your kids from disfiguring cancer

Cases of head and neck cancer are increasing at a faster rate than other cancers, yet a cure for one of the causes is being turned down too often, according to Whangarei doctor Andrew Miller.

In younger patients especially, HPV infection has recently emerged as an important cause of what can be a disfiguring disease.

HPV immunisation, which is funded for

Three articles from the Head and Neck Cancer news from around the world. 

A while back Keytruda was being hailed as the new wonder drug.  There’ve been a few up and downs since then, but it’s still around and the lead story suggests that early promise can be realised.

Second story suggests it could be joined one day by the new AZD1775.

And we finish with one from the `you are what you eat’ file.

Meanwhile

# Toddlers are like sociopaths with a good prognosis.

# The real, and entirely ignored, controversy is why we pretend uninformed and idiotic opinions are equal to ed

Along with `quit alcohol and smoking and lose weight’ the line `exercise more’ is pretty much standard medical advice. However, the lead story notes that there may be more to the`exercise more’ than simply to make everyone feel guilty.

Second story re-emphasises the need for good dental hygiene.

Meanwhile
# That moment when you’re all grown up, and you finally realize that the little piggy didn’t go to the market to go shopping
# Maybe there is no placebo effect and sugar pills just cure every

Cancer diagnosis and treatment can be a pretty bleak time and any help will be appreciated. That help can come in the form of a pet - and the (usually) relentless positivity and enthusiasm of a dog is one of the best – as this week’s lead story suggests.

The second story outlines some of the areas that a recovering survivor may need help with.

Meanwhile

# You have no idea what you've forgotten.

# Insurance is just gambling where you bet against your house, car or health.

# “Better late than

New techniques and developments in applications like robotic surgery, immunotherapy, gene therapy and others are adding to the traditional weaponry of chemotherapy, radiation and surgery.

Hydrogel is now looking a potential winner as well – as today’s lead story suggests. The second looks at gene therapy research in Australia.

Meanwhile
# In many ways, romantic comedies are more harmful to gender equality than violent movies are.
# Ironically, the Internet was actually created to save us tim

Even after successful treatment a head and neck cancer survivor is still likely to face a number of challenges – and not everyone can cope with them. Lead story this week is about post treatment suicides and why depression alone is not a warning sign.

The second story is another pro-exercise piece. However I would suspect someone who does no exercise at all is probably in pretty poor physical shape anyway so the fact they are at increased risk of cancer is hardly a surprise.

Meanwhile:
# Yo

It’s an unfortunate truth that the cancer battle doesn’t end after treatment - even successful treatment. The effects , physical and mental, will linger and dealing them is not always easy. Lead article this week gives a few possibly useful, tips on coping.

Meanwhile:
# Marriage is betting someone half your stuff that you’ll love each other forever.
# In 2016 our favorite celebrities died. In 2017 they lived long enough to become the villain.
# An apple a day will keep anyone away, provided i

Weds Weekly is a round-up of HNC stories from the web, contributed by a member. This week there is a story dear to my heart. Should we use mouthwashes with alcohol in them? (Ed.)

If you’re reading this chances are you’ve either been diagnosed with a cancer or know somebody who has. Talking prevention then could be considered untimely, however a little emphasis on the need for regular checkups certainly won’t go amiss - and for seconds there is a caution about overuse of mouthwash.

Meanw

Cancer research, trials, treatments and discoveries are going on around the world and encouraging progress is being made in many areas. Lead story this week is about the contribution of a near neighbour. (Prof Frazer is pictured above.)

That’s followed by a less encouraging discussion about cancer diagnosis – pessimistic, yes, but a realistic viewpoint none the less.

Meanwhile:

# "If you are a pessimist, you are never going to be disappointed” is a very optimistic attitude to being a pessim

Knowledge is power – know your enemy – is generally good advice but it can also become overwhelming when trying to `know’ a subject as diverse, complicated and downright evasive as cancer. Being a qualified doctor or researcher with years of study behind you can help, but for those less academically inclined today’s lead is a layman’s look at immunotherapy.

Followed by a piece emphasising again that there’s profit in every misfortune.

Meanwhile:
# Without a good education it would be hard to

Between relative newcomers like immunotherapy and robotic surgery along with the more traditional radiation, chemotherapy etc, it could be tempting to think cancer is on the run. It’s true the battle has heated up, but it will go on for a while yet and collateral damage is often extensive. However, as the stories below indicate, progress is being made.

Meanwhile:

# Imagine how out of hand things would get if we didn't get hungover.
# If rats ever gain planet-of-the-apes style intelligence, t